Film stars Raphael Personnaz and Jeanne Balibar.
Paris-based Snd has boarded Anne Fontaine’s Boléro about the birth of the renowned orchestral work from Maurice Ravel, now shooting in France.
Set in the Roaring 1920s, the film stars Raphael Personnaz, known for Our Brothers, Julia(s) and The French Minister, as the composer. Jeanne Balibar, who has appeared in Lost Illusions, Cold War and Grace Of Monaco, plays the Russian dancer-choreographer Ida Rubinstein who commissioned the now legendary music.
Snd, the film arm of France’s M6 group, is on board as co-producer and French distributor and is launching international sales at Cannes.
Paris-based Snd has boarded Anne Fontaine’s Boléro about the birth of the renowned orchestral work from Maurice Ravel, now shooting in France.
Set in the Roaring 1920s, the film stars Raphael Personnaz, known for Our Brothers, Julia(s) and The French Minister, as the composer. Jeanne Balibar, who has appeared in Lost Illusions, Cold War and Grace Of Monaco, plays the Russian dancer-choreographer Ida Rubinstein who commissioned the now legendary music.
Snd, the film arm of France’s M6 group, is on board as co-producer and French distributor and is launching international sales at Cannes.
- 5/3/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Netflix’s “Wendell & Wild” may be on your radar as Jordan Peele’s first animated feature, but stop-motion fans will be flocking to their living rooms for the return of Henry Selick, the director behind such epics as “Coraline,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach.”
Selick hasn’t occupied the director’s chair since his spooky 2009 masterpiece “Coraline,” so “Wendell & Wild,” co-written by Selick and Peele and produced by Peele under Monkeypaw Productions, has had horror and animation fans everywhere counting down the days until its debut.
Unfortunately, while this eye-popping feature makes the most of Selick’s creative sensibilities, its bloated script hobbles the (blood)flow. This film has everything: demons, zombies, penguin nuns, prosthetic feet, priests in pope hats, arson — and, of course, dead parents. “Wendell & Wild” is jam-packed with so many characters and capital-i issues that one could likely fill...
Selick hasn’t occupied the director’s chair since his spooky 2009 masterpiece “Coraline,” so “Wendell & Wild,” co-written by Selick and Peele and produced by Peele under Monkeypaw Productions, has had horror and animation fans everywhere counting down the days until its debut.
Unfortunately, while this eye-popping feature makes the most of Selick’s creative sensibilities, its bloated script hobbles the (blood)flow. This film has everything: demons, zombies, penguin nuns, prosthetic feet, priests in pope hats, arson — and, of course, dead parents. “Wendell & Wild” is jam-packed with so many characters and capital-i issues that one could likely fill...
- 10/28/2022
- by Lena Wilson
- The Wrap
Greenwood won for his ‘The Power Of The Dog’ and ‘Spencer’ scores.
Jonny Greenwood won film composer of the year at the 22nd World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa) which took place as the closing event of Film Fest Ghent (October 22) in Belgium.
Greenwood was nominated for his scores on Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog and Pablo Larrain’s Spencer. Other nominees included Daniel Pemberton and Hans Zimmer.
Scroll down for full list of winners
This is the first time Greenwood has won the award, after previously being nominated in 2018. He was also nominated for other Wsa awards in...
Jonny Greenwood won film composer of the year at the 22nd World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa) which took place as the closing event of Film Fest Ghent (October 22) in Belgium.
Greenwood was nominated for his scores on Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog and Pablo Larrain’s Spencer. Other nominees included Daniel Pemberton and Hans Zimmer.
Scroll down for full list of winners
This is the first time Greenwood has won the award, after previously being nominated in 2018. He was also nominated for other Wsa awards in...
- 10/24/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, joins forces with Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, Nope) for the brand new stop motion movie Wendell & Wild, and Netflix has debuted the full trailer this morning. Wendell & Wild first comes to select theaters on October 21, 2022, followed by the Netflix streaming premiere on October 28.
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in a tale of “the hellishly funny demons of a teen named Kat.” Directed by Henry Selick, the film was co-written by Selick & Peele.
Watch the Wendell & Wild official trailer below for a spooky new look at the film!
“Wendell & Wild is an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) – who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot – a tough teen with a load of guilt – to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat...
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in a tale of “the hellishly funny demons of a teen named Kat.” Directed by Henry Selick, the film was co-written by Selick & Peele.
Watch the Wendell & Wild official trailer below for a spooky new look at the film!
“Wendell & Wild is an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) – who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot – a tough teen with a load of guilt – to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat...
- 10/10/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
“Key & Peele,” meet “Wendell & Wild.”
Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key reunite onscreen by way of stop-motion avatars in Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild,” released seven years after their sketch comedy series concluded. “Get Out” Oscar winner Peele co-wrote the script and produces with director Selick.
The film centers on two demons (Key and Peele) who strike a deal with a troubled orphan (Lyric Ross) to enter the Land of the Living. Angela Bassett, James Hong, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinall Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Ramona Young, Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood, and Ving Rhames also lend their voices to the film.
“Coraline” director Selick helms the stop-motion animated feature which premiered at 2022 TIFF and is set to open the Animation Is Film Festival October 21.
“I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild,’ co-written and produced with Jordan Peele, will have its U.
Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key reunite onscreen by way of stop-motion avatars in Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild,” released seven years after their sketch comedy series concluded. “Get Out” Oscar winner Peele co-wrote the script and produces with director Selick.
The film centers on two demons (Key and Peele) who strike a deal with a troubled orphan (Lyric Ross) to enter the Land of the Living. Angela Bassett, James Hong, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinall Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Ramona Young, Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood, and Ving Rhames also lend their voices to the film.
“Coraline” director Selick helms the stop-motion animated feature which premiered at 2022 TIFF and is set to open the Animation Is Film Festival October 21.
“I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild,’ co-written and produced with Jordan Peele, will have its U.
- 10/10/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Too many years might have passed since Henry Selick last graced the animation world with one of his unique stop-motion creations (2009’s Coraline to be exact), but he returns with a fresh, highly original concoction of playful Grand Guignol proportions in the form of Wendell & Wild.
A happy collaboration with Jordan Peele, who unmistakably adds his own personal creative stamp, the horror satire is nevertheless right up Selick’s nightmare alley, complete with demon siblings, reanimated cadavers and penguin nuns, all wrapped up in a subversive punk rock sensibility. While it would obviously never be mistaken for gentler Pixar fare, the Netflix title (it’s scheduled to land on the streamer Oct. 28, a week after a theatrical bow) packs an all-ages appeal, based on the roar of approval that greeted its TIFF world premiere screening.
Based on the never-published book of the same...
Too many years might have passed since Henry Selick last graced the animation world with one of his unique stop-motion creations (2009’s Coraline to be exact), but he returns with a fresh, highly original concoction of playful Grand Guignol proportions in the form of Wendell & Wild.
A happy collaboration with Jordan Peele, who unmistakably adds his own personal creative stamp, the horror satire is nevertheless right up Selick’s nightmare alley, complete with demon siblings, reanimated cadavers and penguin nuns, all wrapped up in a subversive punk rock sensibility. While it would obviously never be mistaken for gentler Pixar fare, the Netflix title (it’s scheduled to land on the streamer Oct. 28, a week after a theatrical bow) packs an all-ages appeal, based on the roar of approval that greeted its TIFF world premiere screening.
Based on the never-published book of the same...
- 9/12/2022
- by Michael Rechtshaffen
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, joins forces with Jordan Peele for the brand new stop motion movie Wendell & Wild, and Netflix has debuted the official trailer this morning. Wendell & Wild first comes to select theaters on October 21, 2022, followed by the Netflix streaming premiere on October 28.
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in a tale of “the hellishly funny demons of a teen named Kat.” Directed by Henry Selick, the film was co-written by Selick & Peele.
Watch the Wendell & Wild trailer below for a spooky first-look preview!
“Wendell & Wild is an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) – who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot – a tough teen with a load of guilt – to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre...
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in a tale of “the hellishly funny demons of a teen named Kat.” Directed by Henry Selick, the film was co-written by Selick & Peele.
Watch the Wendell & Wild trailer below for a spooky first-look preview!
“Wendell & Wild is an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) – who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot – a tough teen with a load of guilt – to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre...
- 9/6/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The ‘Wolfwalkers’ composer will recieve lifetime achievement award.
French composer Bruno Coulais is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 World Soundtrack Awards, which are presented at Film Fest Ghent on October 22.
Coulais’ music for screen ranges from 2001 French hit The Crimson Rivers through to documentary epic Winged Migration and acclaimed animation Wolfwalkers.
His first score was for filmmaker François Reichenbach, who asked him to provide music for the 1979 short documentary México Mágico.
1996 was a turning point in his career after he created the score for nature documentary Microcosmos, winning Coulais his first of three César Awards
The song...
French composer Bruno Coulais is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 World Soundtrack Awards, which are presented at Film Fest Ghent on October 22.
Coulais’ music for screen ranges from 2001 French hit The Crimson Rivers through to documentary epic Winged Migration and acclaimed animation Wolfwalkers.
His first score was for filmmaker François Reichenbach, who asked him to provide music for the 1979 short documentary México Mágico.
1996 was a turning point in his career after he created the score for nature documentary Microcosmos, winning Coulais his first of three César Awards
The song...
- 7/5/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Key and Peele‘s Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are reteaming as part of the cast of Wendell & Wild, a new animated film that Oscar nominee Henry Selick (Coraline) is directing for Netflix, which will also star Lyric Ross (This Is Us), Angela Bassett (Black Panther), James Hong (Kung Fu Panda), Tamara Smart (A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting), Natalie Martinez (The Twilight Zone), Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves), Gabrielle Dennis (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Igal Naor (300: Rise of an Empire), David Harewood (Tulip Fever), Maxine Peake (Black Mirror), Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever), Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction).
The film written by Selick and Peele is an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele), who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot—a tough teen with a load of guilt—to summon them to the Land of the Living.
The film written by Selick and Peele is an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele), who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot—a tough teen with a load of guilt—to summon them to the Land of the Living.
- 3/14/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Clad in a scarlet suit, Isabelle Huppert approaches a mirror in the opening scene of “White as Snow,” director Anne Fontaine’s modern-day retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s tale “Snow White.” Playing widowed hotel owner Maud, the French star — as ravishing a screen presence as ever — studies her face, searching for the inevitable imperfections of maturity.
That unspoken concern with age is negatively reinforced in the company of her stepdaughter, quiet ingénue Claire. Little is said about the women’s relationship before the passing of Claire’s father, but in the present, the older woman worries that Claire’s amicable temperament and unaffected beauty have bewitched Maud’s current lover. The film’s major downfall resides in the lackluster central conflict, limited to a one-sided fit of jealousy.
Early on, Fontaine deploys an enchanting fairytale score from Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) to ease us into the slightly heightened tone of the piece.
That unspoken concern with age is negatively reinforced in the company of her stepdaughter, quiet ingénue Claire. Little is said about the women’s relationship before the passing of Claire’s father, but in the present, the older woman worries that Claire’s amicable temperament and unaffected beauty have bewitched Maud’s current lover. The film’s major downfall resides in the lackluster central conflict, limited to a one-sided fit of jealousy.
Early on, Fontaine deploys an enchanting fairytale score from Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) to ease us into the slightly heightened tone of the piece.
- 8/11/2021
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Just 36 films were eligible for the Original Score Academy Award this year for a variety of reasons. That means your chances of landing on the shortlist were not so bad at almost 50/50. And for the composers of “Ammonite,” “The Invisible Man,” “Soul” and “The Little Things,” the odds were definitely in your favor.
Read More: “Minari” and “The Crown” rule 2021 SAG Awards nominations
There were few snubs among the selected scores although Hans Zimmer (“Wonder Woman 1984”), Mark Isham and Craig Harris (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), and Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) might have a case.
Continue reading ‘Soul,’ ‘Minari’ & ‘Tenet’ Make The 2021 Original Score Oscars Shortlist at The Playlist.
Read More: “Minari” and “The Crown” rule 2021 SAG Awards nominations
There were few snubs among the selected scores although Hans Zimmer (“Wonder Woman 1984”), Mark Isham and Craig Harris (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), and Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) might have a case.
Continue reading ‘Soul,’ ‘Minari’ & ‘Tenet’ Make The 2021 Original Score Oscars Shortlist at The Playlist.
- 2/9/2021
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be announcing its shortlist on Tuesday in nine Oscar categories. The categories and number of films to be revealed include documentary feature (15), documentary short subject (10), international feature (15), makeup and hairstyling (10), original score (15), original song (15), animated short film (10), live action short film (10) and visual effects (10).
The shortlist voting concluded on Feb. 5, and the remaining will move on to the official phase one voting, which will take place on March 5-9. The Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15, with the show scheduled to take place on April 25.
Down below, find the predictions for the shortlist (except for the shorts) with commentary on what to expect. Go to the Awards Circuit prediction pages of each category for the contenders’ full rankings and the credited artisans.
Makeup and Hairstyling
“Bill & Ted Face the Music” (United Artists Releasing) “Emma.” (Focus Features) “Hillbilly Elegy” (Netflix...
The shortlist voting concluded on Feb. 5, and the remaining will move on to the official phase one voting, which will take place on March 5-9. The Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15, with the show scheduled to take place on April 25.
Down below, find the predictions for the shortlist (except for the shorts) with commentary on what to expect. Go to the Awards Circuit prediction pages of each category for the contenders’ full rankings and the credited artisans.
Makeup and Hairstyling
“Bill & Ted Face the Music” (United Artists Releasing) “Emma.” (Focus Features) “Hillbilly Elegy” (Netflix...
- 2/8/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
It will probably not surprise you to learn that music was part of the lives of Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Film Composer panelists — Terence Blanchard (“Da 5 Bloods”), Benjamin Wallfisch (“The Invisible Man”), Thomas Newman (“Let Them All Talk”), Steven Price (“Over the Moon”) and Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) — from an early age. Click on each name above to view each person’s individual interview.
“I can’t really remember doing much else,” Price states. “I’ve got a theory that my development froze around 5 years old. There were instruments around the house, so it seemed a very natural thing for me to fiddle around with them and make things up. It took me a long time to piece together you could write something, but it always seemed like, what a fun thing to do with your life?”
A New Orleans native, Blanchard was always surrounded by music,...
“I can’t really remember doing much else,” Price states. “I’ve got a theory that my development froze around 5 years old. There were instruments around the house, so it seemed a very natural thing for me to fiddle around with them and make things up. It took me a long time to piece together you could write something, but it always seemed like, what a fun thing to do with your life?”
A New Orleans native, Blanchard was always surrounded by music,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
“Wolfwalkers” is the third and final film in director Tomm Moore‘s Irish folklore trilogy that contains “The Secret of Kells” (2009) and “Song of the Sea” (2014). And it’s no coincidence that Bruno Coulais scored all of them. “I think 12 years ago it was the first with ‘The Secret of Kells and it was evident that we were meant to work together,” Coulais tells Gold Derby at our Meet the Btl Experts: Film Composers panel (watch above). “I love the mood of his films and the third one is a masterpiece, I think. I’m very proud to work with him.”
The film, which like its predecessors is hand-drawn, follows Robyn (voice of Honor Kneafsey), a young English girl in 1650 Ireland whose father Bill (voice of Sean Bean) is tasked to hunt down wolves under the orders of an Oliver Cromwell-esque Lord Protector (voice of Simon McBurney). One day, Robyn...
The film, which like its predecessors is hand-drawn, follows Robyn (voice of Honor Kneafsey), a young English girl in 1650 Ireland whose father Bill (voice of Sean Bean) is tasked to hunt down wolves under the orders of an Oliver Cromwell-esque Lord Protector (voice of Simon McBurney). One day, Robyn...
- 1/27/2021
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Nominees for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards are being unveiled Friday, with a packed slate of songs and scores in film, TV and videogame categories. Names in contention range from Alexandre Desplat, James Newton Howard and Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross as returning veterans in the score divisions to stars like Taylor Swift, H.E.R., Brandi Carlile, Travis Scott, Haim and Janelle Monae as nominated songwriters for feature film themes.
Kenny Loggins has been tagged for the HMMAs; Career Achievement in Music honor, which has previously gone to figures including Diane Warren, Smokey Robinson and composer John Debney.
Loggins will perform on the livestreamed awards show, which has been set for 7 p.m. Pt on Jan. 27, to be webcast on the Hmma site in lieu of the traditional live ceremony (which last year took place at Avalon in Hollywood). He’ll be joined in the performance ranks by Andra Day, Rita Wilson,...
Kenny Loggins has been tagged for the HMMAs; Career Achievement in Music honor, which has previously gone to figures including Diane Warren, Smokey Robinson and composer John Debney.
Loggins will perform on the livestreamed awards show, which has been set for 7 p.m. Pt on Jan. 27, to be webcast on the Hmma site in lieu of the traditional live ceremony (which last year took place at Avalon in Hollywood). He’ll be joined in the performance ranks by Andra Day, Rita Wilson,...
- 1/15/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Five acclaimed film composers will reveal details behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Btl Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Oscar contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published on Thursday, January 21, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a group chat with Joyce and all of them together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:
“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix): Terence Blanchard
Blanchard was an Oscar nominee for “BlacKkKlansman.” Other projects have included “One Night in Miami,...
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:
“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix): Terence Blanchard
Blanchard was an Oscar nominee for “BlacKkKlansman.” Other projects have included “One Night in Miami,...
- 1/13/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Despite the ups and downs, 2020 was a year worth celebrating when it came to movies. Wamg’s list contains stories that provided insight, inspiration, and escapism in the wild year that was 2020.
With movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, there were true social and cultural films that showed everyone how important it is to celebrate diversity.
Even with the dark days, we came together in peaceful protest to bring light to the awful injustices. Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand and we must keep working to bring about an inclusive culture. In June The Academy announced that it will encourage equitable hiring practices and representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the film community.
There were moments of film brilliance that shone brightly whether you were streaming at home or viewing it from your car at the drive-in. Check out our list of Amazing Moments of last year Here.
With movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, there were true social and cultural films that showed everyone how important it is to celebrate diversity.
Even with the dark days, we came together in peaceful protest to bring light to the awful injustices. Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand and we must keep working to bring about an inclusive culture. In June The Academy announced that it will encourage equitable hiring practices and representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the film community.
There were moments of film brilliance that shone brightly whether you were streaming at home or viewing it from your car at the drive-in. Check out our list of Amazing Moments of last year Here.
- 1/5/2021
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Animation comes in all shapes and sizes. From independent features and shorts to the family blockbusters that littered theaters, back when going to the movies was a thing. We even had the occasional raunchy animated comedy. What we don’t have a ton of, at least recently, is animated works where the visuals truly take center stage. Enter Wolfwalkers, the effort from Apple Original Films (as well as Gkids) that hopes to break into the Oscar race. Given the weak year, as well as how elegantly done this feature is, and the streaming service is poised to score an Academy Award citation. Releasing this week, it’s something the whole family can enjoy, even if the youngest of viewers may not be as enthralled as others will be. The film is an animated adventure, set within a magical version of Ireland. This is the official synopsis: “In a time of superstition and magic,...
- 11/10/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, part of the team behind such traditionally-animated modern classics as “The Secret of Kells” and “Song of the Sea,” score another old-school triumph with “Wolfwalkers,” an Irish tale with something to offer viewers of all ages.
There’s wit and adventure, and a pair of delightful young friends whose determination saves the day, but there’s also stunning art and cogent observations about colonization, stewarding the environment, ruling through fear and misinformation, the perils of over-protective parenting, and England’s centuries-long effort to control the Irish, both materially and spiritually.
It’s 1650 in Kilkenny, Ireland, to be exact, where we meet young Robyn Goodfellowe (voiced by Honor Kneafsey of the “A Christmas Prince” trilogy). Robyn dreams of being a fearsome wolf-hunter like her father Bill (Sean Bean), but his paramount concern is keeping Robyn safe, as his late wife would have wished. Bill has...
There’s wit and adventure, and a pair of delightful young friends whose determination saves the day, but there’s also stunning art and cogent observations about colonization, stewarding the environment, ruling through fear and misinformation, the perils of over-protective parenting, and England’s centuries-long effort to control the Irish, both materially and spiritually.
It’s 1650 in Kilkenny, Ireland, to be exact, where we meet young Robyn Goodfellowe (voiced by Honor Kneafsey of the “A Christmas Prince” trilogy). Robyn dreams of being a fearsome wolf-hunter like her father Bill (Sean Bean), but his paramount concern is keeping Robyn safe, as his late wife would have wished. Bill has...
- 9/13/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
As the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival deals with the benefits and struggles of going digital, perhaps no American studio has backed 2020’s online version more than Netflix, which will host three highly-anticipated panels for upcoming projects, among them a masterclass from stop-motion master Henry Selick and his composer Bruno Coulais.
An unannounced surprise, the masterclass – focused primarily on the pair’s upcoming “Wendell & Wild” film – features a cameo introduction from Jordan Peele, who leads the voice cast with long-time comedy partner Keegan Michael Key.
“I’ve had an absolute blast working with Henry Selick and the crew for Wendell & Wild,” he says. “I cannot wait for you to discover this film, but until that can happen it’s my pleasure to introduce my idol Henry Selick, and Bruno Coulais.”
In addition to voice acting, Peele also produced and contributed to the film’s screenplay. He was joined in production...
An unannounced surprise, the masterclass – focused primarily on the pair’s upcoming “Wendell & Wild” film – features a cameo introduction from Jordan Peele, who leads the voice cast with long-time comedy partner Keegan Michael Key.
“I’ve had an absolute blast working with Henry Selick and the crew for Wendell & Wild,” he says. “I cannot wait for you to discover this film, but until that can happen it’s my pleasure to introduce my idol Henry Selick, and Bruno Coulais.”
In addition to voice acting, Peele also produced and contributed to the film’s screenplay. He was joined in production...
- 6/15/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Annecy 2020 Online’s second wave of special programming for its world-class French animation festival (June 15-30) will include a preview from the highly anticipated “Connected”, the latest feature from “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and a Masterclass from stop-motion director Henry Selick and composer Bruno Coulais, who collaborated on Netflix’s upcoming demon comedy, “Wendell & Wild”, and Laika’s “Coraline.”
Also in the mix will be discussions with director Dean DeBlois (DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy), Disney’s legendary directing duo Ron Clements and John Musker, Disney’s chief creative officer/director Jennifer Lee and director Chris Buck on their upcoming Disney+ doc, “Into the Unknown: Making ‘Frozen 2′” (streaming June 26), the art of storyboarding at Cartoon Network Studios (“Summer Camp Island”), a 20th anniversary remembrance of “Chicken Run” with Aardman’s Nick Park and Peter Lord, and a conversation with the...
Also in the mix will be discussions with director Dean DeBlois (DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy), Disney’s legendary directing duo Ron Clements and John Musker, Disney’s chief creative officer/director Jennifer Lee and director Chris Buck on their upcoming Disney+ doc, “Into the Unknown: Making ‘Frozen 2′” (streaming June 26), the art of storyboarding at Cartoon Network Studios (“Summer Camp Island”), a 20th anniversary remembrance of “Chicken Run” with Aardman’s Nick Park and Peter Lord, and a conversation with the...
- 6/4/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Netflix, Disney Sony, Cartoon Network Studios, Dean DeBlois and Aardman are reading presentations at France’s Annecy Film Festival — as 2020’s Annecy, even online, once more proves to be the biggest animation fest in the world and the international event with the largest Hollywood and now global platform presence.
Put together, Annecy’s latest big wave of programming announcement suggests that its move online will mean no world premiere of a potential Hollywood blockbuster – such as, in the past, the “Despicable Me” movie series. With more studio involvement most probably still to be announced, many of the good and great of the English-speaking animation world do look more than willing, however, to roll up their sleeves to update accredited festival viewers on upcoming releases such as, of titles now announced, Netflix’s “Wendell & Wild” and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Connected.”
Netflix
A masterclass between stop-motion luminary Henry Selick and composer...
Put together, Annecy’s latest big wave of programming announcement suggests that its move online will mean no world premiere of a potential Hollywood blockbuster – such as, in the past, the “Despicable Me” movie series. With more studio involvement most probably still to be announced, many of the good and great of the English-speaking animation world do look more than willing, however, to roll up their sleeves to update accredited festival viewers on upcoming releases such as, of titles now announced, Netflix’s “Wendell & Wild” and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Connected.”
Netflix
A masterclass between stop-motion luminary Henry Selick and composer...
- 6/4/2020
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cartoon Saloon’s hand-drawn “Wolfwalkers,” one of the most eagerly anticipated animated features of the year, from Oscar-nominated Irish director Tomm Moore (“Song of the Sea” and “The Secret of Kells”), was quick to set up its artists remotely to work from home when Covid-19 hit last month. In fact, the Kilkenny-based studio mobilized about three weeks before the lockdown. As a result, Moore’s folkloric adventure about two young girls saving the hunted wolf population of Kilkenny in the mid-1600s will make its fall release.
“We were almost done with the hand-drawn animation when we had to begin working from home,” said Moore, who co-directs the final entry in his Celtic trilogy with art director Ross Stewart. “The last clean up scenes were done in Luxembourg [at Studio 352 ] the week we were first working from home, and the Kilkenny team was down to a skeleton crew finishing SFX and clean up animation.
“We were almost done with the hand-drawn animation when we had to begin working from home,” said Moore, who co-directs the final entry in his Celtic trilogy with art director Ross Stewart. “The last clean up scenes were done in Luxembourg [at Studio 352 ] the week we were first working from home, and the Kilkenny team was down to a skeleton crew finishing SFX and clean up animation.
- 4/27/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Isabelle Huppert is set to star as a drug dealer in Jean-Paul Salome’s “La Daronne,” a crime comedy based on Hannelore Cayre’s popular novel.
The film is being produced by Kristina Larsen at Les Films du Lendemain and Jean-Baptiste Dupont at La Boetie Films. Orange Studio has just come on board to handle international sales. Le Pacte will distribute in France. “La Daronne” has also been pre-bought by Canal Plus and Ocs.
Shooting in set to begin next week in Paris. Budgeted at €5.8 million ($6.6 million), “La Daronne” stars Huppert as Patience Portefeux, a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. One day she sets off to help out a woman’s troubled son as a favor and gets embroiled in a failed drug deal, inheriting a pile of cannabis. While keeping her job with the anti-drug squad, Patience crosses to the other side and becomes a well-known drug dealer.
The film is being produced by Kristina Larsen at Les Films du Lendemain and Jean-Baptiste Dupont at La Boetie Films. Orange Studio has just come on board to handle international sales. Le Pacte will distribute in France. “La Daronne” has also been pre-bought by Canal Plus and Ocs.
Shooting in set to begin next week in Paris. Budgeted at €5.8 million ($6.6 million), “La Daronne” stars Huppert as Patience Portefeux, a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. One day she sets off to help out a woman’s troubled son as a favor and gets embroiled in a failed drug deal, inheriting a pile of cannabis. While keeping her job with the anti-drug squad, Patience crosses to the other side and becomes a well-known drug dealer.
- 11/2/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Hollywood Music in Media Awards, recognizing music in film, TV, video games, commercials, and trailers, today announced nominees for its 2018 edition. Among the nominates films are Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut “A Star Is Born,” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Quincy,” and more.
The ceremony will feature presentations, performances, and a special achievement award. Past honorees include Diane Warren, Smokey Robinson, and Glen Campbell.
Hmma nominations are selected by an advisory board and selection committee which includes journalists, music executives, music-media industry professionals comprised of select members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, The Television Academy, the AMPAS Music Branch, Naras, and performing rights organizations.
The awards will be held at the Avalon Hollywood on Wednesday, Nov. 14. A portion of proceeds benefit Education Through Music – Los Angeles.
A list of the visual media nominees are below:
Original Score – Feature Film
Alexandre Desplat – “The Sisters Brothers” (Annapurna)
Carter Burwell – “The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs...
The ceremony will feature presentations, performances, and a special achievement award. Past honorees include Diane Warren, Smokey Robinson, and Glen Campbell.
Hmma nominations are selected by an advisory board and selection committee which includes journalists, music executives, music-media industry professionals comprised of select members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, The Television Academy, the AMPAS Music Branch, Naras, and performing rights organizations.
The awards will be held at the Avalon Hollywood on Wednesday, Nov. 14. A portion of proceeds benefit Education Through Music – Los Angeles.
A list of the visual media nominees are below:
Original Score – Feature Film
Alexandre Desplat – “The Sisters Brothers” (Annapurna)
Carter Burwell – “The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs...
- 10/16/2018
- by Rachel Yang
- Variety Film + TV
The wild wolfdog isn’t the only thing that gets tamed in “White Fang,” Luxembourgish animator Alexandre Espigares’s ravishingly designed new take on the old Jack London chestnut: London’s hard-bitten survivalist narrative is in for a wholesome cleanup too. Ostensibly more faithful to the novel than Randal Kleiser’s 1991 live-action family adventure — rather than introducing a human protagonist, it wisely stays loyal to London’s predominant mutt’s-eye-view — it nonetheless retains some of that film’s Disneyfied plot adjustments, and tempers certain visceral details to puppydog-cute effect. That’s understandable given the junior target audience, though it’s uncertain whether smaller fry will be sufficiently enraptured by the film’s richly rendered Yukon environment to wait out its stately, staggered storytelling.
Either way, enterprising families can find out for themselves via Netflix, which scooped up Espigares’s film after a warmly received premiere in Sundance’s Kids sidebar.
Either way, enterprising families can find out for themselves via Netflix, which scooped up Espigares’s film after a warmly received premiere in Sundance’s Kids sidebar.
- 7/6/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Gkids, the producer and distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, announced that it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the forthcoming animated feature “Mune: The Guardian of the Moon.” The French film is from the producers of the 2016 animated feature “The Little Prince” and will be released theatrically in early 2017, in a new English language version. The film was directed by Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon.
The film takes place “in a fantastical world where a young faun named Mune is unexpectedly entrusted with the monumental title of Guardian of the Moon.”
“Mune” recently won the Young People’s Jury Award at the Tiff Kids International Film Festival and won Best...
– Gkids, the producer and distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, announced that it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the forthcoming animated feature “Mune: The Guardian of the Moon.” The French film is from the producers of the 2016 animated feature “The Little Prince” and will be released theatrically in early 2017, in a new English language version. The film was directed by Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon.
The film takes place “in a fantastical world where a young faun named Mune is unexpectedly entrusted with the monumental title of Guardian of the Moon.”
“Mune” recently won the Young People’s Jury Award at the Tiff Kids International Film Festival and won Best...
- 11/25/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Premiering at the 2014 Venice Film Festival with little fanfare, and received a limited theatrical release in March, 2015 in the Us, Benoit Jacquot’s latest somehow feels as if its been neglected. Despite its high pedigree cast, including names familiar to the American public, like Charlotte Gainsbourg and Catherine Deneuve, it didn’t receive much attention, though will assuredly be the type of sought after gem for fans of either the director or the cast member in decades overcoming its initial frostiness.
The follow-up to his most internationally renowned title to date, Farewell, My Queen, Jacquot’s underwhelming love story uses a contrivance often seen in romantic comedies, only he replaces the comedy with a somber indifference that seems to work against the believability of the film.
3 Hearts seems as if it belongs to an earlier era of filmmaking, a time where repressed feelings would roil just beneath the surface until...
The follow-up to his most internationally renowned title to date, Farewell, My Queen, Jacquot’s underwhelming love story uses a contrivance often seen in romantic comedies, only he replaces the comedy with a somber indifference that seems to work against the believability of the film.
3 Hearts seems as if it belongs to an earlier era of filmmaking, a time where repressed feelings would roil just beneath the surface until...
- 7/28/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Produced by the Ireland-based animation studio, Cartoon Saloon, and distributed by Gkids, "Song of the Sea" is an animated Oscar contender for its exquisite hand-drawn beauty and stirring story about the last Seal-child trapped between two worlds. It debuted in Toronto. Ben and his enchanted little sister Saoirse (a Selkie) are hurled into a fading world of ancient legend and magic as they attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land. "Song of the Sea" features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, and Jon Kenny. The score is composed by Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla, who previously collaborated on "The Secret of Kells." "I had heard plenty of Selkie stories growing up and had seen the 'Secret of...
- 1/29/2015
- by Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
Of Myth and Men: Moore Dons Skin of the Irish Selkies To Craft Stunning Children’s Tale of Family Heritage
You can probably count the number of independent animation studios still making successful culturally specific feature films on a pair of hands, and Studio Ghibli, Aardman Animations, and the Irish production company Cartoon Saloon can be tallied among them. Melding Irish myth with a wash of cinematic reference points that pay homage and inspire in equal measure, director Tomm Moore and his army of inventive artists and animators at Cartoon Saloon have crafted a wonderously imaginative film in Song of the Sea, which lifts from folk stories of the legendary ‘selkies’ that live as humans on land and seals at sea to form a sensorially stunning commentary on the importance of storytelling and unified kinship.
Much like the devastating prologue of Up or the moment of heartbreaking truth in Bambi,...
You can probably count the number of independent animation studios still making successful culturally specific feature films on a pair of hands, and Studio Ghibli, Aardman Animations, and the Irish production company Cartoon Saloon can be tallied among them. Melding Irish myth with a wash of cinematic reference points that pay homage and inspire in equal measure, director Tomm Moore and his army of inventive artists and animators at Cartoon Saloon have crafted a wonderously imaginative film in Song of the Sea, which lifts from folk stories of the legendary ‘selkies’ that live as humans on land and seals at sea to form a sensorially stunning commentary on the importance of storytelling and unified kinship.
Much like the devastating prologue of Up or the moment of heartbreaking truth in Bambi,...
- 12/22/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Handcrafted animated magic. That’s the best way to describe Tomm Moore’s latest film “Song of the Sea,” which premiered at Tiff earlier this year and went on to screen AFI Fest this past November. In this astonishingly beautiful new film Tomm Moore revisits Irish folklore through the eyes of two young siblings, Ben and Saoirse. At the center of the story are the Selkies, mythical creatures that are human above ground and seals under water.
Reimagining these ancient stories for a new audience was a challenge that Moore was more than happy to face. Like with his Academy Award-nominated feature “The Secret of Kells,” this film is also filled with personal touches and with a heartwarming atmosphere that translates into the gorgeous visuals. It’s a rare treat to see a film that has been so delicately crafted in every aspect.
Above all, Tomm Moore is a fan of animation that loves the medium and his fellow creators dearly. Proof of this is his sincere excitement over a “selfie” he was able to take with animation legends John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki last month at the Governors Awards. Miyazaki in particular has made a great impact in the way Tomm Moore approaches his work. Inspired by his family and his cultural background, Moore has managed to create two films that are indelibly his own, and which set him apart from the financially driven crowd.
Distributed by Gkids, “Song of the Sea” recently received 7 Annie Awards nominations including Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Musical Score. The film also ranks high in several of the major film publications among the 20 animated features in the race for a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination
I had the pleasure to sit down with Tomm Moore recently in Los Angeles to talk about his latest animated masterpiece, life after the Oscar nomination, and Cartoon Saloon’s next project. This was undoubtedly one of the most delightful chats this writer has had in recent memory.
Read More: "Song of the Sea" Tiff Review
Carlos Aguilar: When you were looking at Irish folklore for this film, how did you decide what stories or elements would work with the film you wanted to make, especially since you wanted to tale a story aimed at children?
Tomm Moore: When we first started looking at doing something with the Selkies, we noticed that in a lot of the stories the kids would often be a big part of them. The mother would disappear back into the sea, and sometimes they’d be a passage at the end of the story where the kids would go down to the sea and see a seal. They’d always wondered if that was their mother as a seal. That’s why I started thinking about the Selkies stories from the kids’ point of view.
We had lots of different folktales we were looking at. I was really passionate about using several different ones, but the script was getting too bloated and it was too much content. We decided to cut down to just the folklore that we could use to strengthen the family story. We had a lot of folklore, there was almost too much to pick from and as there always is with Irish folklore. There are so many versions of every story because every storyteller tells the story differently. We took a license and we said, “What folklore do we have in this draft that really strengthens what’s happening with the family?”
We came to the idea that the witch could be just an exaggerated version of the Granny, and then the shanachie was going to be a version of the kids’ grandfather but it became too complicated, so we decided against it. It was all about simplifying and boiling it down to make kind of a espresso of folklore so that we could have something really strong that would work internationally as well [Laughs].
Aguilar: Where did you find the folk story or stories that served as framework for “Song of the Sea”?
Tomm Moore: Everywhere. A lot of these stories I heard while growing up and others I read in a book called The People of Sea, lent to me by my friend Ross Stewart. He was the Art Director in “The Secret of Kells.” I went on a trip to the coast of Ireland when I had started working on the “The Secret of Kells,” and I’ saw these seals that had been killed by the sea. Then, when I was talking to the woman that we had rented the cottage from, she said that the fishermen had been killing the seals and blaming them for the drop in fish stocks. She said, “That wouldn’t have happened years ago because people had these beliefs that seals could be Selkies and that they contained the souls of people lost at sea.”
When I came back I talked to Ross Stewart and he loaned me the book I mentioned, which was a collection of stories from the 1920s. The author had gone around Ireland and England collecting all the different beliefs about seals. I was reading those and I was also reading some of Lady Gregory’s works. From the time of Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats there was a big movement to try and capture the stories that had been just passed down in the oral tradition. But honestly, most folklore is only alive if you hear it, if it’s told, because if it’s written down it becomes kind of a gospel. If it’s written people think, “That’s it! That’s the right version! Don’t’ change it.” Folklore is always changing and evolving for new audiences. That’s how you keep it alive.
Aguilar: While “The Secret of Kells” is a gorgeous film in its own right, it seems like “Song of the Sea” had an even more ethereal and fluid look to it, almost like watercolors.
Tomm Moore: A big part of that is Adrien Merigeau, who was the main background artist in “The Secret of Kells.” When I was developing “ Song of the Sea” and working on conceptual stuff, we really tried to blend our styles. His natural style seemed very full of little idiosyncratic design motifs. We started looking at the rocks and carvings that I wanted to include, and we could see similarities between his work and those Pictish carving, so he started to incorporate that into it.
We started working really early, before we even had a script. We were working on evolving this style, and we were hoping it would be a bit more atmospheric than in “The Secret of Kells,” we wanted some of that damped atmosphere that you get in Ireland. Adrien is great with watercolors, and I had been playing a lot with watercolor as well. We felt it was the right approach. “The Secret of Kells” had a stained glass look, and we wanted “Song of the Sea” to feel more like watercolors, more like a mystical fairytale.
Aguilar: What sort of visual reference did you and your team have to create the beautiful patterns and details in the film?
Tomm Moore: It came from a lot of carving and rocks, and the mad sacred geometry in the way they are arranged. It’s amazing stuff. It’s all Celtic and Pre-Celtic from the Picts. The word “picture” comes from the Picts, they were an Irish tribe that used tattoo themselves with the images in all this carvings. When the Romans first found them, they realized they were called the Picts. The word comes from the name the Romans used to refer to the drawings the Picts had all over themselves.
Aguilar: Tell me about your approach in terms of character development. In this films character seem more delicate, perhaps more personal.
Tomm Moore: I based most of the characters on my family. Ben is based on my son. He was 10 when I started working to work on it, now he is 19 now. Time just flies when you are making animation [Laughs]. Cu was based on a dog we had. When Ben was younger we had a dog named Cu. My mother’s name is Bronagh, and she looked a lot like the character in the film. My characters are certainly very personal.
These films are so hard to get made or even get off the ground, then put the finance together, get the story right, that if you pack the film full of people that you love you can live with it longer. There is always a bit of nostalgia. My nephew does Ben’s voice, as you can see it’s a real family story. I knew the characters needed to be softer so I looked at films like “My Neighbor Totoro” and other Japanese animation. The characters in “ The Secret of Kells” are quite geometric, and for this one I wanted to get something a bit softer and fuller.
Aguilar: Was the relationship between Saoirse and Ben also inspired by your personal experience?
Tomm Moore: Yes, the same with Brendan and Ashley in “The Secret of Kells,” both relationships are based on my relationship with my sister. I have three sisters, but there was a certain sibling rivalry between me and my next older sister. For sure that was influential in both films.
Aguilar: I love all the details that you have hidden throughout the film: the animals in the background, the cameo on the bus, or even inanimate objects with a particular shape. Every frame is full of beautiful small touches
Tomm Moore: We spent a long time on that. We wanted to pack everything in there. Adrien’s point of view made the backgrounds look almost like illustrations. We set up each shot like an illustration that would work in a book as well, but ultimately we needed to have continuity. We did a lot of color scripting. All the details are little encouragements for people to watch the movie more than once. [Laughs]
Aguilar: Where you concern about translating Irish folklore into a story that could work for a global audience?
Tomm Moore: I think there is universality to the films. With “Song of the Sea” this was very deliberate because I knew that we had gone the independent route, we didn’t go with a big studio. We made it for 5.5 million Eur, that’s very small compared to other films. “ The Book of Life”, which was the next “low-budget” animated film at The Hollywood Reporter roundtable that I was in, was $50 million.
For me that freedom meant that I could be more personal and more true to our culture. At the same time you want people to be able to enjoy it. There are certain jokes in there that only Irish people will get, but for the most part I wanted to take the approach in which somebody from anywhere in the world could watch it and enjoy it. I like that about “Totoro.” You get a glimpse of Japanese culture but at the same time anybody, anywhere, could watch “Totoro” and enjoy it even if they don’t know anything about Japanese culture.
Aguilar: The film seems to take place in a not-so-distant past where 3D glasses and Walkmans where an awesome novelty.
Tomm Moore: I was thinking it was like 1987, that’s when I was 10 years old. I was nostalgic for that time and I decided to add those little touches. [Laughs]
Aguilar: Music is such an important element in “Song of the Sea.” Tell me about developing the score with the musicians and other talent.
Tomm Moore: With “The Secret of Kells” Bruno Coulais and Kila did a great job but they work for a quite short neat the end of the film. This time, because the music was so important for the whole film, we asked them to get involved really early on. Bruno and Kila started working on the music for the film while we were still writing the story. It was really great, we would have little sessions in Ireland where they’ll get together and work. The first thing we had to work on was the song. We needed to get that right and find a singer. We were lucky to find Lisa Hannigan, who could act and sing. That was the first challenge for this movie, working on the music at the same time as the visuals.
Aguilar: With the advent of 3D animation, is it difficult to find the right people to work on more detailed-oriented 2D films?
Tomm Moore: There is a little team, like in stop-motion. It’s a little team of people that we’ve put together who had worked on “The Secret of Kells,” and some new people. I think it’s about finding people who are really passionate about 2-D animation and want to work at a different level on it. We are lucky in Europe, there seems to be a lot of 2D animation happening. There is still expertise and different studios are still making it.
Aguilar: Where things easier this second time around?
Tomm Moore: “The Secret of Kells ” was tough because it was the first one and we were trying to figure stuff out. This time there were stressful moments but we were a little bit more battle-hardened, like the old team getting back together for one more war [Laughs]
Aguilar: What do you love about 2D animation that 3D can’t provide? What would you say makes the medium particularly special?
Tomm Moore: I think there is a language to drawing that’s special, just like with Ghibli’s latest, “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.” Even if you try to fake the look of a drawing by doing something like “Paperman”, is not quiet the same as feeling that somebody really drew it. Also, I think that if you watch a movie like “My Neighbor Totoro” and then you watch “Ponyo,” you wouldn’t know that they’ve been made 20 years apart. But if you watch the original “Toy Story” and then “Toy Story 3,” you can really see a big difference, you can see a big change in technology. 2-D has a certain timelessness.
Aguilar: You’ve mentioned Miyazaki’s work has been an inspiration to you, what other animators or artists have influenced your work?
Tomm Moore: Richard Williams, who was for years trying to make “The Thief and the Cobbler.” He was never able to finish it properly and then it got taken off of him. It’s a sad story, but he was always such an inspiration to me. When I was in college I saw a documentary about him and you could see he really had this great passion. He fully believed that animation could be art and it didn’t have to been as just something commercial. He spent over 25 year working on that film, that’s more of an art piece than anything else.
Also Genndy Tartakovsky, who is now doing CG stuff like “Hotel Transylvania,” but also worked on shows like “Samurai Jack ” and other greats tuff on TV. Then of course all the Eastern European animated film, specially the Hungarian folktales. There is also the Russian animator Yuri Norshteyn, he is really amazing. He ‘s made some beautiful short films, but he has also been working on this feature film for like 20 years. It’s going to be beautiful if he ever finishes it. I suppose I get inspiration from all over the place.
Aguilar: For you what’s the main difference between animated and live actions films in terms of the creative process and the effect they have on audiences?
Tomm Moore: Animation and live action are blending. I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is an editor, he used to work in live-action and now he works in animation. He used the analogy that editing in live action is like carving away a piece of marble but the shape is basically already there. With animation is more like clay because you keep building, changing, and adding things.
I think animation is freer and I think that’s why live action filmmakers like Spielberg or Cameron are using animation more in their films. “ Avatar” or “Gravity” are basically animate films because they have so much CG animation in them. But I think hand-drawn animation can be something really special. If the character design is quite simple it has the ability to allow people to easily relate to the characters in a special manner. A cartoon character isn’t a specific person. It isn’t Tom Cruise or George Clooney playing the part, it’s a character that could be you. It’s easier for you to get drawn into it in a special way.
Aguilar: Would you ever work on a 3D animated film?
Tomm Moore: I wouldn’t say no, but I’d have to find a way to adapt to it and I don’t think I’d be interested in doing something like Pixar’s shiny, perfect surfaces in 3D. To be honest with you, they do it so well and they spend so much money on it, that unless you are doing it in Pixar there is no point trying to match it. It’ll just come out looking cheap, so you would have to find a clever way to dot it. I like drawing. I like to spend the day drawing, the process is important for me. Drawing is a just a pleasure and it’s nice to keep it going. I think we stand out a little bit from the crowd by being 2D. There is less and less of it that now we have like a badge or a brand that stands out by being 2D.
Aguilar: “Song of the Sea” has received overwhelmingly positive reviews and a great reception by audiences. I’m sure this must be very rewarding and encouraging.
Tomm Moore: The more god reviews we get the more confidence we get, and the more proud we are when we stand beside the film. The only problem is the pressure, this was like making a difficult second album and now we have to make sure that the third film, and the next are good. But that’s a good problem to have [Laughs]
Aguilar: What are you and Cartoon Saloon working on next?
Tomm Moore: The next project that Cartoon Saloon is doing is going to be directed by Nora Twomey, who was the co-director in “The Secret of Kells,” and it’s based on a book called The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. It’s about a little girl in Afghanistan who has to pretend to be a boy so she can provide for her family. Her father is a storyteller. There is going to be two different visual styles in it. The storytelling world will use a decorative style based on Afghan art and then there will be a different style for the real world. It’s definitely challenging. I’m also writing another movie at the moment, it’ll be my third Irish-themed movie.
Aguilar: Seems like you are making a real brand or niche for yourself with Irish animated stories
Tomm Moore: Yes, at least for myself, but I think Nora is going to make something very special and different.
Aguilar: How did the Oscar nomination for “The Secret of Kells” change things? Did it change things at all?
Tomm Moore: It did, maybe not in the way that we had immediately expected. It wasn’t like we suddenly had access to millions and millions or anything like that, because we weren’t willing to become part of the studio system and make a movie that would work in that system. They spend so much money on those films that if you get involved in that system you don’t know if your film will ever get made because it’s such a risk to make them. You could develop something for years and it might never get made. And if they do make it has to be very accessible and it has to be a certain type of product. When they make them well they are beautiful, I was blown away by “How to Train Your Dragon 2.”
But for me, the freedom that you have to give up by trying to get into that system wasn’t worth it. The Oscar nomination might have opened doors to do something like that, but instead we decided to go back to Ireland and stay pretty small. What the nomination did instead was giving us a professional armor. It gave us a certain credibility and people took us more seriously after that. It also opened doors in terms of actors. We could now get voices that we really wanted. It helped with raising the finance, even though we ended up with a very small budget, less even that in “ The Secret of Kells.”
After the economic crash there was less money to put together, but the money that was out there we were able to attract because of the Oscar nomination. Besides, I got to join the Academy, I got to meet Miyazaki the other night, and there are so many benefits that just go on and on [Laughs].
Aguilar: I think “Song of the Sea” is absolutely marvelous, but for those who haven’t had the chance to see, why should they flock to see it?
Tomm Moore: I think it’s offering something different. I think what we tried to do - and I hope we’ve been successful at - is make a movie that is something like “ Totoro,” something like “E.T.” or “Goonies.” We wanted to make something like those movies from the 80s that weren’t a sequel or a prequel. They were just a complete new adventure in themselves. “Song of the Sea” has a kind of melancholy that most animated films seem not having much of anymore. I hope it offers something special.
Reimagining these ancient stories for a new audience was a challenge that Moore was more than happy to face. Like with his Academy Award-nominated feature “The Secret of Kells,” this film is also filled with personal touches and with a heartwarming atmosphere that translates into the gorgeous visuals. It’s a rare treat to see a film that has been so delicately crafted in every aspect.
Above all, Tomm Moore is a fan of animation that loves the medium and his fellow creators dearly. Proof of this is his sincere excitement over a “selfie” he was able to take with animation legends John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki last month at the Governors Awards. Miyazaki in particular has made a great impact in the way Tomm Moore approaches his work. Inspired by his family and his cultural background, Moore has managed to create two films that are indelibly his own, and which set him apart from the financially driven crowd.
Distributed by Gkids, “Song of the Sea” recently received 7 Annie Awards nominations including Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Musical Score. The film also ranks high in several of the major film publications among the 20 animated features in the race for a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination
I had the pleasure to sit down with Tomm Moore recently in Los Angeles to talk about his latest animated masterpiece, life after the Oscar nomination, and Cartoon Saloon’s next project. This was undoubtedly one of the most delightful chats this writer has had in recent memory.
Read More: "Song of the Sea" Tiff Review
Carlos Aguilar: When you were looking at Irish folklore for this film, how did you decide what stories or elements would work with the film you wanted to make, especially since you wanted to tale a story aimed at children?
Tomm Moore: When we first started looking at doing something with the Selkies, we noticed that in a lot of the stories the kids would often be a big part of them. The mother would disappear back into the sea, and sometimes they’d be a passage at the end of the story where the kids would go down to the sea and see a seal. They’d always wondered if that was their mother as a seal. That’s why I started thinking about the Selkies stories from the kids’ point of view.
We had lots of different folktales we were looking at. I was really passionate about using several different ones, but the script was getting too bloated and it was too much content. We decided to cut down to just the folklore that we could use to strengthen the family story. We had a lot of folklore, there was almost too much to pick from and as there always is with Irish folklore. There are so many versions of every story because every storyteller tells the story differently. We took a license and we said, “What folklore do we have in this draft that really strengthens what’s happening with the family?”
We came to the idea that the witch could be just an exaggerated version of the Granny, and then the shanachie was going to be a version of the kids’ grandfather but it became too complicated, so we decided against it. It was all about simplifying and boiling it down to make kind of a espresso of folklore so that we could have something really strong that would work internationally as well [Laughs].
Aguilar: Where did you find the folk story or stories that served as framework for “Song of the Sea”?
Tomm Moore: Everywhere. A lot of these stories I heard while growing up and others I read in a book called The People of Sea, lent to me by my friend Ross Stewart. He was the Art Director in “The Secret of Kells.” I went on a trip to the coast of Ireland when I had started working on the “The Secret of Kells,” and I’ saw these seals that had been killed by the sea. Then, when I was talking to the woman that we had rented the cottage from, she said that the fishermen had been killing the seals and blaming them for the drop in fish stocks. She said, “That wouldn’t have happened years ago because people had these beliefs that seals could be Selkies and that they contained the souls of people lost at sea.”
When I came back I talked to Ross Stewart and he loaned me the book I mentioned, which was a collection of stories from the 1920s. The author had gone around Ireland and England collecting all the different beliefs about seals. I was reading those and I was also reading some of Lady Gregory’s works. From the time of Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats there was a big movement to try and capture the stories that had been just passed down in the oral tradition. But honestly, most folklore is only alive if you hear it, if it’s told, because if it’s written down it becomes kind of a gospel. If it’s written people think, “That’s it! That’s the right version! Don’t’ change it.” Folklore is always changing and evolving for new audiences. That’s how you keep it alive.
Aguilar: While “The Secret of Kells” is a gorgeous film in its own right, it seems like “Song of the Sea” had an even more ethereal and fluid look to it, almost like watercolors.
Tomm Moore: A big part of that is Adrien Merigeau, who was the main background artist in “The Secret of Kells.” When I was developing “ Song of the Sea” and working on conceptual stuff, we really tried to blend our styles. His natural style seemed very full of little idiosyncratic design motifs. We started looking at the rocks and carvings that I wanted to include, and we could see similarities between his work and those Pictish carving, so he started to incorporate that into it.
We started working really early, before we even had a script. We were working on evolving this style, and we were hoping it would be a bit more atmospheric than in “The Secret of Kells,” we wanted some of that damped atmosphere that you get in Ireland. Adrien is great with watercolors, and I had been playing a lot with watercolor as well. We felt it was the right approach. “The Secret of Kells” had a stained glass look, and we wanted “Song of the Sea” to feel more like watercolors, more like a mystical fairytale.
Aguilar: What sort of visual reference did you and your team have to create the beautiful patterns and details in the film?
Tomm Moore: It came from a lot of carving and rocks, and the mad sacred geometry in the way they are arranged. It’s amazing stuff. It’s all Celtic and Pre-Celtic from the Picts. The word “picture” comes from the Picts, they were an Irish tribe that used tattoo themselves with the images in all this carvings. When the Romans first found them, they realized they were called the Picts. The word comes from the name the Romans used to refer to the drawings the Picts had all over themselves.
Aguilar: Tell me about your approach in terms of character development. In this films character seem more delicate, perhaps more personal.
Tomm Moore: I based most of the characters on my family. Ben is based on my son. He was 10 when I started working to work on it, now he is 19 now. Time just flies when you are making animation [Laughs]. Cu was based on a dog we had. When Ben was younger we had a dog named Cu. My mother’s name is Bronagh, and she looked a lot like the character in the film. My characters are certainly very personal.
These films are so hard to get made or even get off the ground, then put the finance together, get the story right, that if you pack the film full of people that you love you can live with it longer. There is always a bit of nostalgia. My nephew does Ben’s voice, as you can see it’s a real family story. I knew the characters needed to be softer so I looked at films like “My Neighbor Totoro” and other Japanese animation. The characters in “ The Secret of Kells” are quite geometric, and for this one I wanted to get something a bit softer and fuller.
Aguilar: Was the relationship between Saoirse and Ben also inspired by your personal experience?
Tomm Moore: Yes, the same with Brendan and Ashley in “The Secret of Kells,” both relationships are based on my relationship with my sister. I have three sisters, but there was a certain sibling rivalry between me and my next older sister. For sure that was influential in both films.
Aguilar: I love all the details that you have hidden throughout the film: the animals in the background, the cameo on the bus, or even inanimate objects with a particular shape. Every frame is full of beautiful small touches
Tomm Moore: We spent a long time on that. We wanted to pack everything in there. Adrien’s point of view made the backgrounds look almost like illustrations. We set up each shot like an illustration that would work in a book as well, but ultimately we needed to have continuity. We did a lot of color scripting. All the details are little encouragements for people to watch the movie more than once. [Laughs]
Aguilar: Where you concern about translating Irish folklore into a story that could work for a global audience?
Tomm Moore: I think there is universality to the films. With “Song of the Sea” this was very deliberate because I knew that we had gone the independent route, we didn’t go with a big studio. We made it for 5.5 million Eur, that’s very small compared to other films. “ The Book of Life”, which was the next “low-budget” animated film at The Hollywood Reporter roundtable that I was in, was $50 million.
For me that freedom meant that I could be more personal and more true to our culture. At the same time you want people to be able to enjoy it. There are certain jokes in there that only Irish people will get, but for the most part I wanted to take the approach in which somebody from anywhere in the world could watch it and enjoy it. I like that about “Totoro.” You get a glimpse of Japanese culture but at the same time anybody, anywhere, could watch “Totoro” and enjoy it even if they don’t know anything about Japanese culture.
Aguilar: The film seems to take place in a not-so-distant past where 3D glasses and Walkmans where an awesome novelty.
Tomm Moore: I was thinking it was like 1987, that’s when I was 10 years old. I was nostalgic for that time and I decided to add those little touches. [Laughs]
Aguilar: Music is such an important element in “Song of the Sea.” Tell me about developing the score with the musicians and other talent.
Tomm Moore: With “The Secret of Kells” Bruno Coulais and Kila did a great job but they work for a quite short neat the end of the film. This time, because the music was so important for the whole film, we asked them to get involved really early on. Bruno and Kila started working on the music for the film while we were still writing the story. It was really great, we would have little sessions in Ireland where they’ll get together and work. The first thing we had to work on was the song. We needed to get that right and find a singer. We were lucky to find Lisa Hannigan, who could act and sing. That was the first challenge for this movie, working on the music at the same time as the visuals.
Aguilar: With the advent of 3D animation, is it difficult to find the right people to work on more detailed-oriented 2D films?
Tomm Moore: There is a little team, like in stop-motion. It’s a little team of people that we’ve put together who had worked on “The Secret of Kells,” and some new people. I think it’s about finding people who are really passionate about 2-D animation and want to work at a different level on it. We are lucky in Europe, there seems to be a lot of 2D animation happening. There is still expertise and different studios are still making it.
Aguilar: Where things easier this second time around?
Tomm Moore: “The Secret of Kells ” was tough because it was the first one and we were trying to figure stuff out. This time there were stressful moments but we were a little bit more battle-hardened, like the old team getting back together for one more war [Laughs]
Aguilar: What do you love about 2D animation that 3D can’t provide? What would you say makes the medium particularly special?
Tomm Moore: I think there is a language to drawing that’s special, just like with Ghibli’s latest, “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.” Even if you try to fake the look of a drawing by doing something like “Paperman”, is not quiet the same as feeling that somebody really drew it. Also, I think that if you watch a movie like “My Neighbor Totoro” and then you watch “Ponyo,” you wouldn’t know that they’ve been made 20 years apart. But if you watch the original “Toy Story” and then “Toy Story 3,” you can really see a big difference, you can see a big change in technology. 2-D has a certain timelessness.
Aguilar: You’ve mentioned Miyazaki’s work has been an inspiration to you, what other animators or artists have influenced your work?
Tomm Moore: Richard Williams, who was for years trying to make “The Thief and the Cobbler.” He was never able to finish it properly and then it got taken off of him. It’s a sad story, but he was always such an inspiration to me. When I was in college I saw a documentary about him and you could see he really had this great passion. He fully believed that animation could be art and it didn’t have to been as just something commercial. He spent over 25 year working on that film, that’s more of an art piece than anything else.
Also Genndy Tartakovsky, who is now doing CG stuff like “Hotel Transylvania,” but also worked on shows like “Samurai Jack ” and other greats tuff on TV. Then of course all the Eastern European animated film, specially the Hungarian folktales. There is also the Russian animator Yuri Norshteyn, he is really amazing. He ‘s made some beautiful short films, but he has also been working on this feature film for like 20 years. It’s going to be beautiful if he ever finishes it. I suppose I get inspiration from all over the place.
Aguilar: For you what’s the main difference between animated and live actions films in terms of the creative process and the effect they have on audiences?
Tomm Moore: Animation and live action are blending. I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is an editor, he used to work in live-action and now he works in animation. He used the analogy that editing in live action is like carving away a piece of marble but the shape is basically already there. With animation is more like clay because you keep building, changing, and adding things.
I think animation is freer and I think that’s why live action filmmakers like Spielberg or Cameron are using animation more in their films. “ Avatar” or “Gravity” are basically animate films because they have so much CG animation in them. But I think hand-drawn animation can be something really special. If the character design is quite simple it has the ability to allow people to easily relate to the characters in a special manner. A cartoon character isn’t a specific person. It isn’t Tom Cruise or George Clooney playing the part, it’s a character that could be you. It’s easier for you to get drawn into it in a special way.
Aguilar: Would you ever work on a 3D animated film?
Tomm Moore: I wouldn’t say no, but I’d have to find a way to adapt to it and I don’t think I’d be interested in doing something like Pixar’s shiny, perfect surfaces in 3D. To be honest with you, they do it so well and they spend so much money on it, that unless you are doing it in Pixar there is no point trying to match it. It’ll just come out looking cheap, so you would have to find a clever way to dot it. I like drawing. I like to spend the day drawing, the process is important for me. Drawing is a just a pleasure and it’s nice to keep it going. I think we stand out a little bit from the crowd by being 2D. There is less and less of it that now we have like a badge or a brand that stands out by being 2D.
Aguilar: “Song of the Sea” has received overwhelmingly positive reviews and a great reception by audiences. I’m sure this must be very rewarding and encouraging.
Tomm Moore: The more god reviews we get the more confidence we get, and the more proud we are when we stand beside the film. The only problem is the pressure, this was like making a difficult second album and now we have to make sure that the third film, and the next are good. But that’s a good problem to have [Laughs]
Aguilar: What are you and Cartoon Saloon working on next?
Tomm Moore: The next project that Cartoon Saloon is doing is going to be directed by Nora Twomey, who was the co-director in “The Secret of Kells,” and it’s based on a book called The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. It’s about a little girl in Afghanistan who has to pretend to be a boy so she can provide for her family. Her father is a storyteller. There is going to be two different visual styles in it. The storytelling world will use a decorative style based on Afghan art and then there will be a different style for the real world. It’s definitely challenging. I’m also writing another movie at the moment, it’ll be my third Irish-themed movie.
Aguilar: Seems like you are making a real brand or niche for yourself with Irish animated stories
Tomm Moore: Yes, at least for myself, but I think Nora is going to make something very special and different.
Aguilar: How did the Oscar nomination for “The Secret of Kells” change things? Did it change things at all?
Tomm Moore: It did, maybe not in the way that we had immediately expected. It wasn’t like we suddenly had access to millions and millions or anything like that, because we weren’t willing to become part of the studio system and make a movie that would work in that system. They spend so much money on those films that if you get involved in that system you don’t know if your film will ever get made because it’s such a risk to make them. You could develop something for years and it might never get made. And if they do make it has to be very accessible and it has to be a certain type of product. When they make them well they are beautiful, I was blown away by “How to Train Your Dragon 2.”
But for me, the freedom that you have to give up by trying to get into that system wasn’t worth it. The Oscar nomination might have opened doors to do something like that, but instead we decided to go back to Ireland and stay pretty small. What the nomination did instead was giving us a professional armor. It gave us a certain credibility and people took us more seriously after that. It also opened doors in terms of actors. We could now get voices that we really wanted. It helped with raising the finance, even though we ended up with a very small budget, less even that in “ The Secret of Kells.”
After the economic crash there was less money to put together, but the money that was out there we were able to attract because of the Oscar nomination. Besides, I got to join the Academy, I got to meet Miyazaki the other night, and there are so many benefits that just go on and on [Laughs].
Aguilar: I think “Song of the Sea” is absolutely marvelous, but for those who haven’t had the chance to see, why should they flock to see it?
Tomm Moore: I think it’s offering something different. I think what we tried to do - and I hope we’ve been successful at - is make a movie that is something like “ Totoro,” something like “E.T.” or “Goonies.” We wanted to make something like those movies from the 80s that weren’t a sequel or a prequel. They were just a complete new adventure in themselves. “Song of the Sea” has a kind of melancholy that most animated films seem not having much of anymore. I hope it offers something special.
- 12/18/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Works In Progress winner is Nataliya Kudryashova for Pioneer Heroes.
The Les Arcs Film Festival’s CoProduction Village wrapped its sixth edition on December 15, including the Works-In-Progress, Projects in Development, Low Budget Film Forum and for the first year, the Music Village Pro.
The Voice by György Pálfi was chosen as the prize winner for the Projects in Development, earning the Hungarian filmmaker €4,000 as part of a first time prize-fund sponsored by Arte.
The film centers around a young boy in search of his father who went missing in Stockholm thirty years ago. Pálfi, a Les Arcs regular, attributes much of his success to the CoProduction Village. “I am very supportive of this festival, it has benefitted me immensely over the years. But never did I think I would win this award.”
For the second year, Digimage Classics offered a €6000 prize in post-production services for the Works-In-Progress section, this year given to first-time feature director Nataliya Kudryashova...
The Les Arcs Film Festival’s CoProduction Village wrapped its sixth edition on December 15, including the Works-In-Progress, Projects in Development, Low Budget Film Forum and for the first year, the Music Village Pro.
The Voice by György Pálfi was chosen as the prize winner for the Projects in Development, earning the Hungarian filmmaker €4,000 as part of a first time prize-fund sponsored by Arte.
The film centers around a young boy in search of his father who went missing in Stockholm thirty years ago. Pálfi, a Les Arcs regular, attributes much of his success to the CoProduction Village. “I am very supportive of this festival, it has benefitted me immensely over the years. But never did I think I would win this award.”
For the second year, Digimage Classics offered a €6000 prize in post-production services for the Works-In-Progress section, this year given to first-time feature director Nataliya Kudryashova...
- 12/17/2014
- ScreenDaily
Three hundred twenty-three feature films are eligible for the 2014 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.
To be eligible for 87th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.
Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.
Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. The “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 87th Academy Awards” is available at http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced that 114 scores...
To be eligible for 87th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.
Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.
Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. The “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 87th Academy Awards” is available at http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced that 114 scores...
- 12/13/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Original scores from The Boxtrolls, Divergent, Exodus: Gods And Kings and The Grand Budapest Hotel are among 114 scores eligible for nominations in the Original Score category for the 87th Oscars. The noms will be announced on January 15. The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs,” Vivek Maddala, composer
“Anita,” Lili Haydn, composer
“Annabelle,” Joseph Bishara, composer
“At Middleton,” Arturo Sandoval, composer
“Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?,” Elia Cmiral, composer
“Bears,” George Fenton, composer
“Belle,” Rachel Portman, composer
“Big Eyes,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Big Hero 6,” Henry Jackman, composer
“The Book of Life,” Gustavo Santaolalla and Tim Davies, composers
“The Boxtrolls,” Dario Marianelli, composer
“Brick Mansions,” Trevor Morris, composer
“Cake,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Calvary,” Patrick Cassidy, composer
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Henry Jackman, composer
“The Case against 8,” Blake Neely, composer
“Cheatin’,” Nicole Renaud,...
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs,” Vivek Maddala, composer
“Anita,” Lili Haydn, composer
“Annabelle,” Joseph Bishara, composer
“At Middleton,” Arturo Sandoval, composer
“Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?,” Elia Cmiral, composer
“Bears,” George Fenton, composer
“Belle,” Rachel Portman, composer
“Big Eyes,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Big Hero 6,” Henry Jackman, composer
“The Book of Life,” Gustavo Santaolalla and Tim Davies, composers
“The Boxtrolls,” Dario Marianelli, composer
“Brick Mansions,” Trevor Morris, composer
“Cake,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Calvary,” Patrick Cassidy, composer
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Henry Jackman, composer
“The Case against 8,” Blake Neely, composer
“Cheatin’,” Nicole Renaud,...
- 12/13/2014
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
Yay! One of my favorite animated films of 2014 topped the recently announced 2014 Annie Awards honoring excellence in the field of animation. Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi's "The Boxtrolls" received 12 nominations including Best Animated Feature. The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at UCLA.s Royce Hall. For more information on the Annie Awards, click here.
Here's the full list of nominees for the 2015 Annie Awards
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin' - Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea - Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life - Reel FX
The Boxtrolls - Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie -Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya - Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Voyager Pictures LLC
Dawn of the...
Here's the full list of nominees for the 2015 Annie Awards
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin' - Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea - Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life - Reel FX
The Boxtrolls - Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie -Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya - Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Voyager Pictures LLC
Dawn of the...
- 12/1/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Monday morning, the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, announced nominations today for its 42nd Annual Annie Awards, recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. Leading the pack with 13 nominations, including a nod for Best Animated Feature, is Laika Animation's "The Boxtrolls." Dreamworks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon 2" followed with 10 nominations, joining "Boxtrolls" in the Character Animation, Animation Effects, and Best Feature categories. Rounding out the organization's big prize are "Big Hero 6" (seven nominations), "Cheatin'" (three), "Song of the Sea" (seven), "The Book of Life" (five), "The Lego Movie" (six), and "The Tale of Kaguya" (three). The Annie Awards also announced nominations in TV, video game and short subject categories. “We had a steady increase in submissions this year and I am excited to say it’s going to be a great awards ceremony,” remarked Asifa-Hollywood Executive Director, Frank Gladstone. “We added a new category...
- 12/1/2014
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Big Hero 6, Cheatin’, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song Of The Sea, The Book Of Life, The Boxtrolls, The Lego Movie and The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya have been nominated in the top category for the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood’s 42nd annual Annie Awards. The Annies cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements. The winners will be announced January 31 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Here’s the full list of noms:
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin’
Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea
Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life
Reel FX
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Voyager...
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin’
Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea
Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life
Reel FX
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Voyager...
- 12/1/2014
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline
Stop-motion animation is a dying art of cinema. Fortunately, the good folks at Laika have been keeping the artistry alive for years. The Boxtrolls is their latest selection to come to theaters, but the process started with Coraline in 2009 and then ParaNorman in 2012. While these movies have not been a mega-money-makers that we see with the Pixar and DreamWorks films, Laika’s films have made enough money to justify making more of the movies, and that’s a great thing for cinema. Coraline, based on Neil Gaiman’s visionary book, started the Laika ball rolling, and at the helm was The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick. For the 2009 Blu-ray and DVD release of the film, Selick sat down to talk over the film and give some personal insight. Composer Bruno Coulais is also listed as one of the commentators, and he does show up over the final credits to talk about the music, but...
- 9/25/2014
- by Kevin Carr
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The product of a miraculously unique brand of animated alchemy, Tomm Moore’s follow-up to the Academy Award-nominated “The Secret of Kells,” is an even more stunning work of art. As if wrapped in a blanket made of gorgeous magical dreams, watching “Song of the Sea” is a spellbinding experience that captures fantasy in its purest form. Cartoon Saloon has once again reinterpreted Irish folktales and crafted a world so unimaginably alluring is hard not to surrender to its charm.
Sporting a superhero cape and a spunky attitude, Ben (voiced by David Rawle) is a 10-year-old boy who lives in an island with his younger sister Saoirse, his father Conor (Brendan Gleeson), a lighthouse keeper, and his adorable dog Cú, a joyful and loyal furball. Living in what seems to be the 80s, Ben’s most prized possessions include goofy 3-D glasses and a rock-and-roll-ready Walkman - fun items for a kid his age. But amongst these, a peculiar seashell given to him by Bronagh (Lisa Hannigan), his mother, before passing away, holds a special place in his memory. The singular keepsake doesn’t only connect him to her, but also to the many stories of magical creatures and enchanted worlds he grew up listening to. His role as a big brother is not something he enjoys. Little Saoirse, who has never uttered a word but is their father’s only source of happiness, easily frustrates Ben.
One night as if in a trance, Saoirse is escorted into the ocean by a group of smiling seals wearing a shiny mystical coat that belonged to her mother. It is then that her remarkable power is revealed. She is a beautiful white Selkie - a mythological being that lives as a human on ground and as a seal underwater – and has a mission to accomplish. But after this incident, the kids pompous Granny (Fionnula Flanagan), who lives in the city, beliefs the seaside life is too dangerous and takes them back with her to the urban sprawl. Their father is still so paralyzed with grief after losing his beloved wife that he agrees with her plan.
Unsatisfied with their new situation, the siblings attempt to trek back to the island. Along the way they are confronted with an array of whimsical friends and enemies realizing that those mythical stories their mom used to recite are actually tangible. Musical fairies in distress, an eccentric Wiseman whose every hair holds a memory, and an owl-like witch who stores her emotions, and those of everyone else in this magical realm, in tight-sealed enchanted jars. Indeed a clever metaphor for bottling emotions that turn hearts into stone. Only Saoirse’s yet non-existent voice can save them and restore order both in the real world and the ancestral kingdom.
Resembling rustic watercolor paintings enhanced with movement, there is an artisanal quality to every frame. From the sea, to the city, to the forest and the fantastical underworld, the amount of details employed in every creature and space is breathtaking. Nothing is overlooked. So meticulous is their approach that even transmission towers have a distinct design. Unattainable by solely using computer animation, the film’s visual aesthetic feels simultaneously handcrafted and otherworldly. Filled with a classical warmth, “Song of the Sea” should remind everyone why animation, when done as flawlessly as it is here, is such a incredible medium. Color, form, and fluid motion delivered in an unforgettable style that's at the service of a similarly compelling story.
An ethereal atmosphere imbues the film thanks to the evocative score by Bruno Coulais. His music builds a bridge between the two worlds and adds a wonderfully enigmatic tone. By the same token, the glowing lighting work of the animators is worthy of enormous praise. Their manufactured cinematography is vivid and subtle all at once. It makes the sea shimmer with uncanny intensity and the lovely characters sparkle with life. Written by William Collins, the narrative itself packs heartfelt themes weaved into the mythological components. Adults have been consumed with pain and have protected themselves with solid armatures only breakable with the hopeful innocence of children. Reconnecting with ones roots and appreciating the value of selfless courage, figure prominently as themes in the film.
With only two animated features under his belt, it's clear that a few years from now –sooner rather than later – we will be talking about Tomm Moore with the same reverence and adoration as we do now about Miyazaki. Here is a new master animator on his way to becoming legendary on his own right. Moore has taken us on a journey into Irish folklore that truly isn’t quite like anything seen before. Old tales of honor, valor, and family values adapted for the screen with the transfixing power of its dreamlike drawings. Watching “Song of the Sea” it's easy to assert that this is one of the most blissfully beautiful animated films ever made. It is a gem beaming with awe-inspiring, heartwarming magic.
"Song of the Sea" had its World Premier on Saturday September 6th at Tiff. Gkids will release the film theatrically on December 19th in NYC and Toronto.
Sporting a superhero cape and a spunky attitude, Ben (voiced by David Rawle) is a 10-year-old boy who lives in an island with his younger sister Saoirse, his father Conor (Brendan Gleeson), a lighthouse keeper, and his adorable dog Cú, a joyful and loyal furball. Living in what seems to be the 80s, Ben’s most prized possessions include goofy 3-D glasses and a rock-and-roll-ready Walkman - fun items for a kid his age. But amongst these, a peculiar seashell given to him by Bronagh (Lisa Hannigan), his mother, before passing away, holds a special place in his memory. The singular keepsake doesn’t only connect him to her, but also to the many stories of magical creatures and enchanted worlds he grew up listening to. His role as a big brother is not something he enjoys. Little Saoirse, who has never uttered a word but is their father’s only source of happiness, easily frustrates Ben.
One night as if in a trance, Saoirse is escorted into the ocean by a group of smiling seals wearing a shiny mystical coat that belonged to her mother. It is then that her remarkable power is revealed. She is a beautiful white Selkie - a mythological being that lives as a human on ground and as a seal underwater – and has a mission to accomplish. But after this incident, the kids pompous Granny (Fionnula Flanagan), who lives in the city, beliefs the seaside life is too dangerous and takes them back with her to the urban sprawl. Their father is still so paralyzed with grief after losing his beloved wife that he agrees with her plan.
Unsatisfied with their new situation, the siblings attempt to trek back to the island. Along the way they are confronted with an array of whimsical friends and enemies realizing that those mythical stories their mom used to recite are actually tangible. Musical fairies in distress, an eccentric Wiseman whose every hair holds a memory, and an owl-like witch who stores her emotions, and those of everyone else in this magical realm, in tight-sealed enchanted jars. Indeed a clever metaphor for bottling emotions that turn hearts into stone. Only Saoirse’s yet non-existent voice can save them and restore order both in the real world and the ancestral kingdom.
Resembling rustic watercolor paintings enhanced with movement, there is an artisanal quality to every frame. From the sea, to the city, to the forest and the fantastical underworld, the amount of details employed in every creature and space is breathtaking. Nothing is overlooked. So meticulous is their approach that even transmission towers have a distinct design. Unattainable by solely using computer animation, the film’s visual aesthetic feels simultaneously handcrafted and otherworldly. Filled with a classical warmth, “Song of the Sea” should remind everyone why animation, when done as flawlessly as it is here, is such a incredible medium. Color, form, and fluid motion delivered in an unforgettable style that's at the service of a similarly compelling story.
An ethereal atmosphere imbues the film thanks to the evocative score by Bruno Coulais. His music builds a bridge between the two worlds and adds a wonderfully enigmatic tone. By the same token, the glowing lighting work of the animators is worthy of enormous praise. Their manufactured cinematography is vivid and subtle all at once. It makes the sea shimmer with uncanny intensity and the lovely characters sparkle with life. Written by William Collins, the narrative itself packs heartfelt themes weaved into the mythological components. Adults have been consumed with pain and have protected themselves with solid armatures only breakable with the hopeful innocence of children. Reconnecting with ones roots and appreciating the value of selfless courage, figure prominently as themes in the film.
With only two animated features under his belt, it's clear that a few years from now –sooner rather than later – we will be talking about Tomm Moore with the same reverence and adoration as we do now about Miyazaki. Here is a new master animator on his way to becoming legendary on his own right. Moore has taken us on a journey into Irish folklore that truly isn’t quite like anything seen before. Old tales of honor, valor, and family values adapted for the screen with the transfixing power of its dreamlike drawings. Watching “Song of the Sea” it's easy to assert that this is one of the most blissfully beautiful animated films ever made. It is a gem beaming with awe-inspiring, heartwarming magic.
"Song of the Sea" had its World Premier on Saturday September 6th at Tiff. Gkids will release the film theatrically on December 19th in NYC and Toronto.
- 9/7/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Tomm Moore follows up his Oscar-nominated "The Secret of Kells" with an even more ambitious Irish folk tale, "Song of the Sea," which plays Toronto on Saturday. Produced by the Ireland-based animation studio, Cartoon Saloon, and distributed by Gkids, "Song of the Sea" (opening December 19th) looks to be a sure Oscar contender for its exquisite hand-drawn beauty and stirring story about the last Seal-child trapped between two worlds. Ben and his enchanted little sister Saoirse (a Selkie) are hurled into a fading world of ancient legend and magic as they attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land. "Song of the Sea" features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, and Jon Kenny. The score is composed by Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla,...
- 9/5/2014
- by Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
Tim here with some great news for everyone who loved the 2009 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominne The Secret of Kells (which should, really, be everyone). Gkids, the indie that Kells first put on the map, has announced that they'll be distributing diretor Tomm Moore's second feature, Song of the Sea, though they've rather cagily failed to announce a date just yet (the film is still in production). Based on the distributor's past history, I'd expect an Oscar-qualifying run in the fall, followed by a full release sometime in the spring of 2015, which isn't terribly comforting to those of us who want to see it, like, now. Just based on the images available on Moore's blog for the movie, it looks like the animators at Cartoon Saloon have taken the illuminated manuscript aesthetic gone to even richer, more tactile places.
Like The Secret of Kells, the new movie tells a...
Like The Secret of Kells, the new movie tells a...
- 2/12/2014
- by Tim Brayton
- FilmExperience
Gkids has signed on to be the North American distributor for Oscar-nominated Irish director Tomm Moore’s second animated feature "Song of the Sea." For this much-anticipated follow-up to 2009’s The Secret of Kells," Moore has re-teamed with composer Bruno Coulais and the Irish band Kíla. The film will feature the voices of Brendan Gleeson, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, and Jon Kenny. Regarding partnering once again with animation studio Cartoon Saloon and Moore, Gkids founder and president Eric Beckman said, “We are absolutely thrilled to renew our collaboration with Cartoon Saloon for Song of the Sea. Tomm brings an unprecedented level of artistry and passion to his filmmaking and he and the team at Cartoon Saloon have created something truly incredible with this film. Us audiences have a very, very special treat in store for them.” Moore continues exploring his fascination with Irish folklore with a story that...
- 2/11/2014
- by Melina Gills
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The Secret of Kells director’s sophomore animation gets sales company.
WestEnd Films has signed on to sell Tom Moore’s anticipated animation Song of the Sea, the director’s follow up to Oscar-nominated animation The Secret of Kells.
Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt and Jon Kenny are among the voice cast in the Cartoon Saloon-produced family-animation, due for release late this year.
Like Moore’s previous film, Song of the Sea takes inspiration from Irish folklore, centring on the legend of the Selkies, mythological creatures that are part seal, part human.
The storyline revolves around brother and sister Ben and Saoirse, who are forced to leave their coastal home to live with their grandmother following their mother’s mysterious disappearance.
Oscar-nominated composer Bruno Coulais again joined forces with Irish Band Kíla to create the score after their collaboration on 2009 feature Kells.
Previous deals done with producers include StudioCanal for the...
WestEnd Films has signed on to sell Tom Moore’s anticipated animation Song of the Sea, the director’s follow up to Oscar-nominated animation The Secret of Kells.
Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt and Jon Kenny are among the voice cast in the Cartoon Saloon-produced family-animation, due for release late this year.
Like Moore’s previous film, Song of the Sea takes inspiration from Irish folklore, centring on the legend of the Selkies, mythological creatures that are part seal, part human.
The storyline revolves around brother and sister Ben and Saoirse, who are forced to leave their coastal home to live with their grandmother following their mother’s mysterious disappearance.
Oscar-nominated composer Bruno Coulais again joined forces with Irish Band Kíla to create the score after their collaboration on 2009 feature Kells.
Previous deals done with producers include StudioCanal for the...
- 2/7/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Hot on the heels of yesterday's news of Henry Selick's The Shadow King being at Efm, our friends over at Bleeding Cool have scored themselves the sales art and even uncovered the flick's voice cast. Read on!
In The Shadow King Jaden Betts will star as Hap; Pamela Adlon as Richard; Brendan Gleeson as Darce; Jeffrey Tambor as Cuzzie Bell; and Catherine O’Hara as Miss Fern.
The Shadow King is written and directed by Selick. His team includes an impressive array of renowned artists such as Director of Photographer Peter Sorg (Frankenweenie, Coraline); Eric Leighton, Animation Director on Legend of the Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’hoole; Production Designer Lou Romano (The Incredibles); Editor Wyatt Jones (Immortals, Rango, Tron: Legacy, Zodiac); and composer Bruno Coulais (Coraline).
Synopsis
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap, who hides his fantastically weird hands with...
In The Shadow King Jaden Betts will star as Hap; Pamela Adlon as Richard; Brendan Gleeson as Darce; Jeffrey Tambor as Cuzzie Bell; and Catherine O’Hara as Miss Fern.
The Shadow King is written and directed by Selick. His team includes an impressive array of renowned artists such as Director of Photographer Peter Sorg (Frankenweenie, Coraline); Eric Leighton, Animation Director on Legend of the Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’hoole; Production Designer Lou Romano (The Incredibles); Editor Wyatt Jones (Immortals, Rango, Tron: Legacy, Zodiac); and composer Bruno Coulais (Coraline).
Synopsis
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap, who hides his fantastically weird hands with...
- 2/6/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
After the project was canceled by Disney last year, it was announced yesterday Henry Selick’s The Shadow King was moving forward with K5 International. We now have the first image from the movie and the main voice cast list.
“The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s brother Richard and ultimately destroying New York.
The Shadow King is written and directed by Selick. His team includes an impressive array of renowned artists such as Director of Photographer Peter Sorg, (Frankenweenie, Coraline), Eric Leighton, Animation Director on Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’hoole,...
“The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s brother Richard and ultimately destroying New York.
The Shadow King is written and directed by Selick. His team includes an impressive array of renowned artists such as Director of Photographer Peter Sorg, (Frankenweenie, Coraline), Eric Leighton, Animation Director on Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’hoole,...
- 2/6/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Good news for those of you who prefer your horror more on the animated and wondrous side of the fence. This year's European Film Market just may be the place where the world will witness the rise of The Shadow King!
From the Press Release
Henry Selick, the genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, James And The Giant Peach and the Oscar® and BAFTA nominated Coraline, is moving forward with Academy Award nominated producer Josh Penn (Beasts Of The Southern Wild) and K5 International on his latest feature, The Shadow King.
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap, who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s brother,...
From the Press Release
Henry Selick, the genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, James And The Giant Peach and the Oscar® and BAFTA nominated Coraline, is moving forward with Academy Award nominated producer Josh Penn (Beasts Of The Southern Wild) and K5 International on his latest feature, The Shadow King.
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap, who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s brother,...
- 2/5/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
After the project was put on hold by Disney, it has now been announced that The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline director Henry Selick has partnered with producer Josh Penn and K5 International for his latest stop-motion project, The Shadow King:
“Henry Selick, the genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, James And The Giant Peach and the Oscar® and BAFTA nominated Coraline, is moving forward with Academy Award nominated producer Josh Penn (Beasts Of The Southern Wild) and K5 International on his latest feature The Shadow King.
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s...
“Henry Selick, the genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, James And The Giant Peach and the Oscar® and BAFTA nominated Coraline, is moving forward with Academy Award nominated producer Josh Penn (Beasts Of The Southern Wild) and K5 International on his latest feature The Shadow King.
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s...
- 2/5/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
The nominations for the César Awards aka the French Oscars were announced. "Farewell, My Queen," "Amour," "Camille Redouble," "In the House," "Rust & Bone," "Holy Motors," and "What's My Name" are competing for the Best Picture category. We'll find out the winners on February 22nd.
Here's the full list of nominees of the 2013 César Awards:
Best Picture
Farewell, My Queen
Amour
Camille Redouble
In The House
Rust & Bone
Holy Motors
What.s In A Name
Best Director
Benoît Jacquot, Farewell, My Queen
Michael Haneke, Amour
Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble
François Ozon, In The House
Jacques Audiard, Rust & Bone
Leos Carax, Holy Motors
Stéphane Brizé, Quelques Heures De Printemps
Best Actress
Catherine Frot, Les Sauveurs Du Palais
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble
Corinne Masiero, Louise Wimmer
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Léa Seydoux, Farewell, My Queen
Hélène Vincent, Quelques Heures De Printemps
Best Actor
Jean-Pierre Bacri, Cherchez Hortense
Patrick Bruel, What...
Here's the full list of nominees of the 2013 César Awards:
Best Picture
Farewell, My Queen
Amour
Camille Redouble
In The House
Rust & Bone
Holy Motors
What.s In A Name
Best Director
Benoît Jacquot, Farewell, My Queen
Michael Haneke, Amour
Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble
François Ozon, In The House
Jacques Audiard, Rust & Bone
Leos Carax, Holy Motors
Stéphane Brizé, Quelques Heures De Printemps
Best Actress
Catherine Frot, Les Sauveurs Du Palais
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble
Corinne Masiero, Louise Wimmer
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Léa Seydoux, Farewell, My Queen
Hélène Vincent, Quelques Heures De Printemps
Best Actor
Jean-Pierre Bacri, Cherchez Hortense
Patrick Bruel, What...
- 1/27/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Promised Land is the new contemporary drama directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk). Matt Damon plays Steve Butler, an ace corporate salesman who is sent along with his partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company’s expansion plans. With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company’s offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John Krasinski), as well as the interest of a local woman (Rosemarie DeWitt). Promised Land explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge. The film will be...
- 12/26/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Bruno Coulais is the composer of the French comedy My Worst Nightmare (Mon pire cauchemar). The movie starring Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Poelvoorde, André Dussollier follows a married couple that suddenly find their lives turned upside down when a breezy worker is hired to do some renovations in their apartment. The film is directed by Anne Fontaine who last worked with composer Alexandre Desplat on the 2009 drama Coco Before Chanel. Bruno Pesery and Philippe Carcassonne (Coco Before Chanel) are producing. My Worst Nightmare will have its world premiere next month at the Toronto Film Festival. A release in France is scheduled for November and no domestic release plans have been announced yet.
The Academy Award-nominated composer (The Chorus, Coraline, The Crimson Rivers) also has the live action adaptation of Sur la piste du Marsupilami coming up. The film based on the popular French comic book by Andre Franquin is directed by Alain Chabat and stars himself,...
The Academy Award-nominated composer (The Chorus, Coraline, The Crimson Rivers) also has the live action adaptation of Sur la piste du Marsupilami coming up. The film based on the popular French comic book by Andre Franquin is directed by Alain Chabat and stars himself,...
- 8/20/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
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